Please review this guide and the appropriate sections for possible solutions to the problems you're experiencing.

If you are getting an error in Pro Tools, the first step would be to search both the forum and the Knowledge Base for the error number(s) you're getting, as a vast majority of errors have solutions already. Make sure to remove the minus sign (-) from in front of the error number during you're search, as a minus sign in a search field means you want to exclude the following term from the search.

If you are experiencing a particular technical issue that does not include an error number, try searching the Knowledge Base and forum by key words that are related to your problem. Try a few different, related terms to see if they produce better search results. Use the Advanced Search on the forum to narrow or expand your search results. For general 'assertion', 'neoaccess' or 'neoassertion' errors, see below for a possible solution, then do a search for the last few sections of the error if the presented solution does not help.

Other things to check:

Reseat cards and cables and/or replace cables. Even new cables are prone to failure and cable failure is one of the major causes for issues.

For recording or playback issues, test from a different drive to eliminate the drive as a source for the problem.

Remove components of the system to determine if they may be related to the problems - devices such as MIDI controllers, USB drives, etc.

If possible, for general hardware issues, try a different port on the computer or testing the questionable hardware on another computer, to see if it follows the hardware or is specific to your system.

By process of elimination, you can narrow down the ultimate cause of your issues and determine the best course of action.

Compatibility

Verify you are using a supported Mac and your system meets all of the minimum requirements. You can find compatibility information here.

- Verify that you have the Minimum or Suggested amount of Ram loaded in your system.
- Verify that your version of the Mac OS is supported with your version of Pro Tools.

- Make sure all drives are formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with Apple's Disk Utility. Pro Tools cannot use UFS or HFS volumes. If the drive was originally formatted in OS 9 or with any other application, backup the drive and reinitialize it with Disk Utility. See Hard Drive Requirements - Pro Tools LE for Mac OS X for more info.
- If you are on a PowerPC (PPC) Mac, you cannot record to a GUID partitioned drive (which is typically the partition type for Intel based Mac boot/OS drives). You must reformat the drive as Apple Partition Map. APM formatted drives can be used for recording with both PPC and Intel based Macs.

IMPORTANT! You MUST use a secondary hard drive (not your main OS drive) for recording and playback of audio in Pro Tools. Recording or playback from the OS drive is known to be problematic and the cause of many different error types. If you are using your system drive and encountering errors, the first thing you should do is get a compatible drive.

Pro Tools supports recording and playback to a secondary drive that meets the following requirements:

7200 rpm or faster
9ms seek time or faster

Firewire drives must have the Oxford 911 (FW400 port), Oxford 912 (FW400 & FW800 ports) or Oxford 924 (FW800 ports) Bridge chip. Other Oxford chipsets, while not fully tested, have not shown any issues and should generally work well with Pro Tools.

USB drives are not supported and are known to be problematic. Avoid using USB drives, as they are known for causing a variety of errors.

Plug-In Compatibility

Make sure that all Plug-Ins are compatible with the version of Pro Tools you're running. It is extremely important that you have installed only compatible plug-ins. See reply post below for more info!

Please download and install the Pro Tools Tech Support Folder, which has tools and utilities to assist in diagnosing and troubleshooting potential problems you may encounter, including a plug-in version generator which can be useful when verifying plug-in compatibility.

If we have asked you to provide a plug-in version list and you're on Leopard, you may need to run the Plug-In version generator twice for the correct version numbers to show up. Please be sure to trash the previously generated list before running the utility again.

You can also use the Pro Tools Preference and Database Helper to trash preferences and databases automatically, as well as providing a few other useful tools. (This application is provided by a 3rd party and is not tested or supported by Digidesign)

6086, 9128 or other errors when using certain plug-ins, VI's, software synths or samplers

Reducing the number of CPU's in the Playback Engine may be required for certain plug-ins to function properly with Pro Tools.

See the next post for more specific information regarding Mbox 2 Pro and M-Audio firewire interfaces.

Test RAM

A somewhat frequent cause of general computer problems has been traced to bad RAM. Unfortunately there's no reliable software test of RAM. The only way to be absolutely sure is to remove and/or swap RAM modules, hopefully with known good ones.

Disable Virus Protection

Disable any Virus Protection Software. Check for evidence of anti-virus software in Library > Startup items. Move these items out of this folder and restart the CPU (do NOT remove the DigidesignLoader or PACESupport folders).

Other Troubleshooting

Remove any unnecessary USB or Firewire devices or any other extraneous hardware and then restart the computer.

In the case of possible hardware issues with your Mac the next step is to test the Mac hardware. To do this, boot off of the Apple Hardware Test CD or Software Restore DVD (depending on Mac model) that shipped with your Mac. If you are booting off of the Software Restore DVD, hold the option key while the Mac starts up, then choose Apple Hardware Test. Once Apple Hardware Test loads, press Control+L. This puts Apple Hardware Test in loop mode. Click Extended Test, and let it go (preferably overnight).

Login Items

Certain items that always start up when you log in to your computer can conflict with Pro Tools operations. The way to check what is starting up every time you log in is:

Open System Prefs>Accounts

Select your account from the list on the left hand side of the window

Click on the "Login Items" tab on the right hand side of the window

Go through the list and select each item and click the "-" (minus) button below the list to remove the item in question.

StartupItems

Certain items that always start up when turn on your computer can conflict with Pro Tools operations. The way to check what is starting up every time you start your computer is to navigate to:

Mac HD > Library > StartupItems

Any Digidesign Files/Folders located in this folder should be okay for use with Pro Tools. Common files/folders to have are:

Digidesign Loader

Digidesign Mbox 2

PACE Support

Any other files/folders should be backed up and removed for optimal Pro Tools operation

FileVault

FileVault is an Apple utility to help protect your files. When FileVault is turned "ON" this can conflict with Pro Tools and the installation of Pro Tools. Make sure FileVault is disabled following these steps:

Open System Prefs >Security

In this window look where is says: FileVault protection is (on/off) for this account

If FileVault is on click the button to turn off FileVault

Spotlight Indexing

If Spotlight Indexing is running in the background, this can cause errors in Pro Tools. You should make your recording and playback drives 'private' which will disable Spotlight indexing on those drives.

To add a drive to the Private list, go to System Preferences>Spotlight, click on the Privacy tab and drag the drive icon on your desktop to the privacy list window or click on the '+' sign under the list and then select the drive you want to make private, adding it to the list.

New Admin Account (Typically only necessary if all other troubleshooting has been tried already)

Try creating a new user with admin privileges in System Preferences > Accounts.

Click the Lock to authenticate

Enter password

Click the "+" (plus sign) under the list of users

Type In Pro Tools for the Name

Enter a password and verify (optional)

Check the box 'Allow user to administer this computer'

Click 'Create Account'

Then login to this new account and run Pro Tools

Go to the Apple menu and go to 'Log Out (Username)'

Login in to Pro Tools

If there is no icon in the Dock, navigate to MacHD > Applications > Avid -or- Digidesign > Pro Tools

Double-click on 'Pro Tools LE'

If the problem goes away after creating a new admin account, it's likely that there is an OS service preference corruption. Pro Tools uses OS services for many of it's dialog windows, Quicktime Playback, etc. Unfortunately in these situations it's very difficult to determine the preference that is causing the problem and your best bet is to migrate over to the new account - unless, of course, you did the smart thing and have a recent backup of your OS drive in which case you can revert to your backup.

General NeoAccess or Assertion errors

If you receive one of these errors, usually after recording or when trying to save a session, it can usually be resolved by following the steps for trashing preference and database files listed above.

Click OK when it reports that the uninstall was successful and then reinstall Pro Tools.

Digi 002/002R users experiencing any combination of the following symptoms and whose serial number ends in the letter A-F should contact Digidesign Tech Support by phone for information on getting your unit serviced:

The unit keeps on clicking when powering up, or when launching Pro Tools.
"Unable to locate Digidesign Hardware" error message when launching Pro Tools.
Dots or blank scribble strips (002 only)
Firewire light in back is blinking or turned off completely
Sample Rate light is off or blinking
Unit won't power up, or only powers up intermittently
Only the Mute light is lit when powering up and you are unable to disable Mute

If you're experiencing noise from the Mbox 2, there are several things to try:

Make sure you're using balanced cables on all balanced inputs and outputs. Remember that the Mbox 2 outputs are unbalanced, and should use unbalanced connections.

Try using a power conditioner for all your electronic gear (Furman, Monster).

Run your outputs directly to shielded monitors and not through a mixer to see if the noise goes away.

Some noise complaints arise from noisey power supply units inside computers - try installing and running on another computer (or if you're using a laptop, unplug the power supply and run off of batteries to see if noise goes away).

Unplug and turn off all unnecessary gear and run only the computer, the Mbox 2, and monitors.

Listen through headphones.

Make sure you're not running through a USB hub or other device - the Mbox 2 always needs to be plugged directly into the computer.

Lastly, if you feel a repair is necessary, please contact Tech Support to set up a Return Authorization.

If you continue to have problems after going through all of the above

Help us help you!

To enable Digidesign Technical Support and other users to assist you with your problem, PLEASE provide a complete system profile as well as a complete description of the problem you're experiencing, including the exact text and error numbers in any error messages you're gettting. PLEASE list exactly which of the above steps you've done - you can use the title of each section to indicate if you've done the step or not.

At the very least, we need the following information:

Computer model and processor speed

OS version

Pro Tools version

Amount of RAM installed

Any attached peripherals (hard drives, video devices, other firewire or USB devices that may be attached, etc)

Number and type (firewire, SATA, SCSI, etc) of drives installed

Which of the drive(s) are being used for recording and playback

A concise list of the troubleshooting you've already tried - please be as specific as possible! The first thing we'll ask is 'Have you done everything in the Setup and General Troubleshooting thread?', so we'll want to know that you've done ALL of it and, if you've not done everything, we need to know what you have or have not done, as this can have a huge impact on further troubleshooting.

The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for Tech Support and other users to assist you - take the time now to document everything you can and you'll save time in the long run.

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Note: To enable other users to help you, please include all of your system details when posting an issue to the forum; Pro Tools hardware, Pro Tools software version, computer model/processor speed, OS version, amount of RAM installed, type of hard drives used, etc.